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Abandoned Properties
Anyone have any luck with Abandoned properties?
Typically it is a very easy process finding the onwers of the properties but will they sell and will they sell for what you have in mind? I would like to hear some feed back on this subject as I am considering jusmping into this untapped market.
All you hear about is REO, Short Sales, & pre-foreclosures but what about these properties that are left to rot, can you make a profit for both you and the neighborhood?
Thanks Ladies & Gentlemen!
I have five different letters going out to abandoned property owners that owen nothing on their properties and I hope one hits. There are many ways to make a profit off of these properties without having to put all cash down. You can have seller financing or do a wrap around mortgage to get things done a lot faster.
The sky is the limit and I will let you know what happens next but from what I can see ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$) it will be very profitable.
Originally posted by "loki005":
I have five different letters going out to abandoned property owners that owen nothing on their properties and I hope one hits. There are many ways to make a profit off of these properties without having to put all cash down. You can have seller financing or do a wrap around mortgage to get things done a lot faster.The sky is the limit and I will let you know what happens next but from what I can see ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$) it will be very profitable.
Good luck with that.
You've motivated me to at least try it and see if I get lucky and find an owner willing to sell.
If possible, can you give an example of the letters that you're sending out.
Sure just shoot me your e-mail and when I get the chance (most likely in the next few min or so) I will get you all the sample letters I send out. You might want to start with the first one and if no answer by one week send out the next one and so on. But if you are able to get a phone number via 411 or www.whitepages.com then I would suggest to give them a call instead of mail.
Yo NBD I have not heard from you yet and I was wondering if you still wanted those forms we talked about?
Thanks NBD
Yes, if you could send them to my email.
Feel free to throw in any other non-related forms that you think are useful also.
Thanks,
Mr. Lopez
There is an easy way to find the owner. Go buy a generic for sale sign and put in the yard with your phone number on it. Most likely one of the neighbors actually knows the owner or the owner might drive by and see the sign. He will be a little upset that someone is trying to sell his house and he will call you. At this point tell him you were just trying to get in touch with him and that you are an investor and would like to help him get rid of his headaches with the property by buying it form him. All it costs you is the price of the sign.
Originally posted by "Budda":
There is an easy way to find the owner. Go buy a generic for sale sign and put in the yard with your phone number on it. Most likely one of the neighbors actually knows the owner or the owner might drive by and see the sign. He will be a little upset that someone is trying to sell his house and he will call you. At this point tell him you were just trying to get in touch with him and that you are an investor and would like to help him get rid of his headaches with the property by buying it form him. All it costs you is the price of the sign.
Not to rain down on your parade Budda but I do not think that this is an esay way to find the owner let alone efficent. If you want to find the owner just stick to 411 calls or whitepages .com and if that does not work then mail a letter to the abandoned property!
Oh and do not worry NBD I will get those forms out to you as soon as possible my good friend. And when I get the chance I will mail you the puchase contract so as you do not need an agent to represent you.
Loki005,
Could you send me those forms also?
I actually have a house that is abandoned right in my backyard!
I got the phone number of the owner and called... left a voicemail. It's been around a week and haven't heard anything from him, should I call back after a week or is that being too demanding/intrusive...?
Originally posted by "robmack":
Loki005,Could you send me those forms also?
I actually have a house that is abandoned right in my backyard!I got the phone number of the owner and called... left a voicemail. It's been around a week and haven't heard anything from him, should I call back after a week or is that being too demanding/intrusive...?
Yes I can send you those forms.
First you have to know if this is going to be a profitable deal or not, so I have you done your reasearch? As far has comping the property and finding out how much the owner owes on the property itself. Soon after if you can get you foot in door, never give an offer before inspecting the property (there may be hidden damages) so ask the owner if you can have your GC give you a quote on repairs.
Once you have determined that it is worth looking at you need to take action. Now you said that you called and left a voice mail, there are several things you can do at this point. By now you must have their new address, cause you all ready have a phone number.
You can keep leaving messages
You can mail him/her letters of interest
You can visit him/her at their new place of reidence
(unless their new residence is out of town, but if not I would suggest this to be your best bet)
P.S. Please send me your contact info so as I can get you those forms my friend.
I have bought abandoned properties. Purchase price was about 60% and after renos resulted in nice profit. It is a lot of work so if you can wholesale to a rehabber it can be can an easy way to make money.
Originally posted by "NBD_Investments":
You've motivated me to at least try it and see if I get lucky . . .
Luck is what you get when you work persistently and consistently on a goal. I get "lucky" all the time with finding deals because I work my butt off looking and searching for them day after day, week after week, month after month.
Just remember the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Hi guys,
I've being looking for an owner of one house but no luck so far.
I talked to the neighbor and he said that owners got divorced, moved out and no one of them wanted the house.
What I have done:
- Called county clerk. There is only one name on the title and no contact info besides that abandoned house.
- Called tax collection office - taxes are not paid since last year. Billing address is the same.
- Tried white pages - only one record of that name with the same abandoned address.
What else could be done? Someone have mentioned that if taxes are not paid you can buy that house from tax assessor. How does it work?
You could try addressing an envelope to their house and put "Address service requested" on it. If they have had their new address for less than 18 months then the Post Office will send you notice of the new mailing address.
Maybe put in the envelope a letter that you are interested in purchasing the property at that address.
Originally posted by "dafly":
You could try addressing an envelope to their house and put "Address service requested" on it. If they have had their new address for less than 18 months then the Post Office will send you notice of the new mailing address.Maybe put in the envelope a letter that you are interested in purchasing the property at that address.
Appreciate your advice, dafly.
I went by the house again. Neighbors appeared to be very cooperative - one guy gave me owner's cell.:D He also told me that the house owner got in trouble for not maintaining the yard. :goofy:
Vacant houses are my FAVORITE DEALS for quick turnaround flips. You're talking to someone that cares so little about the property that it's just sitting vacant. I think that these are the best deals for newbies too...they require no money out of pocket and they're easy to find. Gas up the car and Start Driving For Dollars..:) A good part of the time, these properites will have REALLY SCREWED UP TITLES, so make sure that you do a legit closing at a title company and get title insurance to protect yourself or your assignee (end buyer).
Finding the owners can be quite entertaining as well. It takes some good detective work and some time. In the end, it's usually well worth it. Before you go through any serious trouble searching, it's probably best to run a quick check on the property appraisor records to see when the house was purchased and how much they paid. You want to see if there's a good amount of equity.
Here's The Process Chart That I Use When I'm Looking For Owners:
1. Place A Flier in the door stating that you buy houses in any condition & stick one of your "I Buy Houses" bandit signs right in the front yard.
2. Ask The Neighbors....Not Just immediate neighbors. I always go Four houses out on each side and across the street. You should be able to get bits and pieces of information from each person. Don't be afraid to ask questions..Leave your card and offer money (if you buy the property) for any information that they may "remember" after you leave...Ask & You Shall Receive!
3. I go to whitepages dot com or call 411...No reason to go nuts searching through court records if it pops up there.
4. Visit your local Tax Assessor's Office. Check the "Mailing Address" to see where the tax statements are headed. ALSO, I ALWAYS run that person's name to see if they own other property in hopes that there are more abandoned junkers that we can cut a deal on. Sometimes a new mailing address will be on other properties as well.
5. Run the name through the clerks office and look at all the recorded docs and court indexes for that person. You can often get a good picture of what's going on, and sometimes even some other addresses or addresses of relatives, etc. This is where your detective skills kick in. You want to scour through and see if you can find anything...divorce filings, new loans, leins, Law Suits. If their salary is being garnished, the employer's name and address will be their for you. . Many times you'll see that the individual is in jail or just got out of jail. You can usually find their attorney or a new address off of the arrest info. If they're in jail, you can call the prison and set up a visit with the inmate.
6. Send out a letter and put "Address Service Requested" on the envelope. The letter should be personalized - I noticed your house at "X,Y,Z and I purchase houses in your area.....etc..etc" Make sure that it's hand written and regular stamp.
7. Skip Tracer: I usually use "FINDTHESELLER dot COM" because they're pretty inexpensive and they're pretty good at finding people that I can't with very limited info. It usually takes 24 - 48 hours to get a match but you can be trying the other methods while you're waiting.
8. If it's a unique last name, I'll start calling everyone in the phone book within the area...hoping to get a relative. I've been surprisingly successful with this "Shot Gun" approach. If the name is something like, "Johnson" or "Jones"...I wouldn't even attempt it..:)
9. Voter Registry - You can get updated addresses
10. Place the lead in my file in case another clue arises in the near future (Property goes into foreclosure, neighbors call you, someone calls on the sign, etc)
what do you mean for abandoned houses ?
Wow thanks Rich that is some great information. I will be trying your method, it makes a lot of sense.
Yes vacant and abondoned properties is my primary strategy. I buy them cheaply and wholesale them to rehabbers or landlords. My best deal ever was three properties I bought from one seller and I sold them all to one buyer. I made $200K on that deal. Of course I havn't done close to that since :cry:
In my area, Baltimore, there are a lot of rehabber/investors. Often the vacant houses are owned by investors that have too many properties to get around to rehabbing it but they don't want to sell. The hard pat is usually finding the owners
i find it risky dealing with abandoned properties.
sketteksalfa - Can you please expand on that? How do you find it to "risky", as opposed to purchasing a preforeclosure or a probate or a ......
It's really just a "Motivator To Sell".
Yes, as with any real estate investment, there are risks. But all of these risks can be calculated. I would certainly make sure that you have a title company do the closing for you, because 90% of the time, they have tons of liens. Obviously, Code Enforcement liens are big ones on Abandoned Properties. Don't make a code enforcement lien kill the deal though...Go in front of the city board and ask to have the fees reduced or eliminated on the premise that you will be cleaning up their community & the only thing standing in your way is the lien.
Repairs are another major issue. Very often, these houses need to be completely gutted inside and out. Personally, I like to wholesale these deals to the "Die Hard Rehabbers". I don't like getting into big projects like that because I really don't like major surprises..:)